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A Big Bull
The bull impatiently banged his horns on the metal gates. Quirt eased himself down slowly to sit on the bull's back. Quirt pulled on the rope for the sixth time and packed his gloved hand down tight against the bull's back. Brody stood on the second rail from the top, leaning over Quirt and the bull, watching him get ready. "Narcolepsy is this bull's name because he 'puts cowboys to sleep'. You sure you wanna do this, buddy?" he asked Quirt. "Sure I am. I can't wait to show this big hunk of meat, that I rule!” “Ride 'em for both of us.” Brody encouraged. “Too bad your mom wouldn't let you enter." "Yeah well, it's only been two months since we found Roth's lab. My arm still hurts sometimes." "I bet Suki would kiss your boo boo," Quirt teased. While Brody was helping Quirt get ready in the chute, Suki came closer to watch his ride. She sat on the end of the bleachers closest to the chutes with Brody's camera as she was assigned the photographer job for the event. But the camera wasn't even turned on yet. ''' '''Suki was distracted, thinking about another letter that she'd received from her father. She wasn't close enough to hear Quirt and Brody talking over the noise from the cattle and crowd, but she looked up when she heard Brody yell loudly. "We'll, if you're sure - go for it!" Brody yelled, standing on the back side of the bucking chute. Brody stayed high on the fence where he could help Quirt if he needed it. Grinning from ear to ear, Quirt nodded and a cowboy pulled the rope that swung the chute gate open. The Brahma bull with Quirt on his back and looking very small, spun out of the gate, jumped a stride and went into a spin. Suki covered her mouth and one eye with her hands. She really didn't want to see her friend get smashed, buts still, she couldn’t make herself look away. Quirt kept his legs clamped on tight along the bull's sides and moved with the rhythm like he was part of the powerful animal. Narcolepsy planted his front feet and leaned to spin the other way. Skinny, not too tall and strong, Quirt stayed right with him. The eight-second whistle blew. The clowns ran out in the arena and the bull shifted his weight to spin the other way, only this time, when his hooves hit the dirt, his front legs slid out from under him. Narcolepsy fell forward on his shoulder and Quirt fell forward, smacking his cheek and jaw on the bull's powerful neck. Quirt saw stars and went limp for just an instant. "No!" Suki cried and stood up. Quirt lost just one, precious fraction of a second to release his hand from the bull rope. ''' '''Trying to get up, the bull slammed into the gate. Quirt fell off with his hand still secured fast just as the bull got to his feet and started bucking again. Suki screamed his name and ran to the chutes. She climbed up and ran along the tops of the gates, like she was running a balance beam to get to where she could see better. She was looking for a way to help Quirt. A young blond cowboy wearing a dirty, crumpled hat, was sitting on top of the fence where Suki hesitated before jumping down into the arena. He put his arm out and said, speaking slowly, like there was nothing urgent about the situation, "Hold it right there, Missy. Stay here and let the clowns handle it." "But he's in trouble," she started to object, but stopped herself, "Okay." She agreed. Suki would have run right out in the bull's path if it would have helped Quirt, but truthfully, she realized she didn't know how to help him. Brody was already out in the arena with two bull-fighting clowns, and there was another clown on the way. More cowboys climbed the fence to watch. Narcolepsy curved his body and bucked sideways trying to get away from the sack of meat hanging on his side. Quirt would have liked nothing more, than to get away from the bull too, but he couldn’t let go. His hand was still tied securely to the bull by a heavy rope. The massive beast jumped and twisted, kicking again and again, swinging Quirt around like a rag doll. The annoyed 2000 pound, ball of muscle got too close to the fence a second time and his horns banged the pipe, making a loud racket and shaking the corral panels like he might just tear them down. After that, the bull stampeded in a straight line across the arena with Quirt flapping in the breeze. Quirt tried over and over to reach up to release his own hand, but every time he got close the bull jumped again and threw him back. Straining his arm. Narcolepsy out-ran Brody and both bull-fighting clowns when they tried to get in front of him. The third clown wearing pink shorts jumped the arena fence on the opposite side and managed to get in front of the bull. He shook his butt at him, waved a yellow polka dot scarf in his face and when the bull turned to hook him with his horns the clown dove for a brightly-colored barrel lying on its side nearest to them. He barely got inside the barrel before Narcolepsy rammed it, but it had his attention and he slowed down for a moment. While the bull banged on the barrel with his horns, Brody got close enough to release Quirt's hand. Cradling his arm, Quirt took two running strides and went to his knees. After such a wreck, Quirt was feeling dizzy. The bull turned to charge at the boys while Brody was pulling Quirt to his feet. He heard Suki screaming at him from the gates and felt the bull's hot breath on his back. In desperation, he gave Quirt a hard shove. At the same time he reached behind, slapped the bull's face and pulled his horn as he doubled back. Quirt tried to keep running, but fell again after a short distance. As Brody planned, the bull turned away from Quirt and charged him instead. As Brody ran for the closest fence, his boot slipped and he fell in front of the bull. Narcolepsy lowered his head and ran right over him. Then he turned and ran over Brody again, trying to push down on him with his horns as he went. The first clown that got there pulled Quirt up on his feet again and practically carried him back toward the chutes. Quirt was dazed, dizzy and held the arm that had been trapped in the rope tightly across his chest. Suki screamed. "Brody!" and started to jump off the fence again. But this time, the two closest cowboys grabbed her hands to hold her back. Brody covered his head and rolled one way, then the other. The clown wearing pink, that had been in the barrel was out and jumped in front of the bull while it was trying to horn Brody. The clown helping Quirt, got him to the arena fence, where the cowboys sitting on top could grab him and pull him up and over. The clown ran back out in the arena to help the others. One clown hung his yellow scarf over the bull's horns and the other kicked him in the butt. Thankfully, Narcolepsy turned away from Brody to charge the clowns again. Two cowboys ran out into the arena to help Brody while the cowboys on the fence with Suki, kept hold of her to keep her from running out in the arena. "See here girl, you can't go out there," the blond cowboy told her, "look, your friend made it to his feet on his own." It did look like Brody was okay, but Quirt still looked like he was bad off. "Let me go!" Suki screamed as she watched the others lower Quirt down behind the chutes to the ground. He was awake at least, and still holding his arm across his chest. Quirt spoke to the brown-haired cowboy that helped him sit up, "Hey Brody! That was something wasn't it? Thanks," Quirt looked up at him, "Umm, you're not Brody." The young cowboy shook his head, no, and pointed to the arena. Looking between the rails, Quirt saw Brody scrambling to his feet and running toward the cowboys, who were on their way to help him. They met up, and all ran back toward the chutes. With Narcolepsy still feeling froggy in the arena, two bull-fighting clowns put on a show for the crowd that involved the bull, a large doll with huge red lips and a baby carriage. Before he even got to the chutes, Brody asked, "Is he okay?" "I'm fine Brody, thanks!" Quirt answered quickly, "but what took you so long?" "Sorry, but I was a little busy out there." "Brody it looked like that bull stomped you to China, are you okay?" Suki yelled louder than she meant to. "I'm fine. I'm sure it looked worse than it was. He never stepped on me, although I'm not sure how. The back of my vest must be full of bull-snot." "Brody?" Suki asked, looking at him like she was trying to see inside him, looking for injuries. "I'm okay Suki . . . really." Brody smiled. "So am I," Quirt announced, "I'm ready for round two!" "Isn't that in boxing or something?" Suki asked. "Yeah Suki, and Quirt, you're nuts." Brody stated. "Why . . . Thank you!" Quirt answered. Quirt's father, Mark Farnsworth came down out of the 'Farnsworth Rodeo Arena's announcer's booth to check on the kids and his son himself. "Are you boys okay?" he asked. "Yeah dad!" Quirt answered. "I'm just glad your mother wasn't here to see that." Mark mumbled on his way back up the ladder to the announcer's booth. Below, they were ready for the next rider. Suki, Quirt and Brody sat together on the bleachers to watch the rest of the event. Quirt could be seen slowly opening and closing his fingers on the hand that got stuck. "You sure you're okay, Bro?" Suki asked again. "Yeah, Suki," he smiled. "Hey - when is it your turn on the bull?" "Never." Frowning, she said ending any thought he had of putting her on a raging bull. Suki continued, "And I was glad when I heard Donna wasn’t going to let Brody enter, but he wound up out there, and in danger, anyway." "Can't help it sis, that’s the way we rock." Quirt grinned. "It's time to go to the snack trailer, right?" "Right." Brody got up. "I’ll stay here and hold our seats." Suki said. "But the bleachers are almost empty. I don't think there'll be a problem." Quirt observed. "Leave her alone you dork, that’s her way of saying she doesn't want to come with us.” Brody called back, “Suki, do you want us to bring you anything?" "No, I'm good." she answered. "Yes you are." Brody grinned and made her blush. Suki didn't watch the rodeo while they were gone. She took the most recent of her dad's two letters out of her pocket to worry over it some more. Her incarcerated father's words worried her. 'I'll come get you soon and with the Farnsworth money, we'll live on top for the rest of our lives.' That statement frightened her so badly she hadn't been able to think of anything else for weeks. ''' '''She tried hard to keep herself convinced that her dad couldn't actually show up, since he was in prison and sentenced to life for killing her mother. Even though she still tried to defend him, down deep, she was afraid of him.